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L.A. Times’ Boss Offers Another Explanation for Lack of Prez Endorsement

The former editorials editor quit after she said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the paper’s billionaire owner, gave the order not to publish an endorsement.

With fuming readers unsubscribing in droves, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is offering a different explanation for his newspaper’s decision to skip making a presidential endorsement this year after his former editorials editor pinned the blame on him. Mariel Garza, who resigned in the wake of the surprise Tuesday announcement, gave an interview to the Columbia Journalism Review in which she said Soon-Shiong had on Oct. 11 informed the Los Angeles Times’ editorial board that it would not be endorsing. “In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up,” Garza said of her departure. Soon-Shiong disagreed with her characterization of events in a Wednesday post on X, however. “The Editorial Board was provided the opportunity to draft a factual analysis of all the POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies by EACH candidate during their tenures at the White House, and how these policies affected the nation,” he said, arguing that “this clear and non-partisan” presentation would allow readers to come to their own conclusions. “Instead of adopting this path as suggested, the Editorial Board chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision,” he said.

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AJ McDougallBreaking News Reporter

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